Kashmir:A tale of travesty

Discussions on how the Kashmir issue has been represented over the years

The beginning of a new age of violence in Jammu and Kashmir in 1989 took off with the mayhem ensued by the permission of the then Prime Minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto, for the intelligence apparatus of her country to export fighters outward from the Kashmir valley. Since then, Kashmir is visible more like a chessboard for a large malicious game of intrigue, where the official truth appears manufactured narrative rather than it should be in its natural shape.

The tug of war between India and the opposition forces from Kashmir along with the clear support of Pakistan and its allies can be understood lucidly through Edmund Burke’s quote conveyed in the House of Commons on April 19, 1774: “The use of force alone is but temporary. It may subdue for moment; but it does not remove the necessity of subduing again; and a nation is not governed, which is perpetually to be conquered.”

History does not flow in straight lines, but in outlines—and in Kashmir’s painful history there are many forgotten references due, to negotiate. Since October 1947, when the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir conditionally acceded to the Government of India, there has been a gap between India’s democratic and secular ideals and the reality of New Delhi’s relationship with Srinagar. This has led to various bouts of disillusionments, the first of them as early as the 1950s—largely in the Muslim dominated Kashmir valley.

Persistent calls for Kashmiri secession only intensified through the next three-and-a-half decades as disenchantment with assertive Indian actions and lures from the unhygienic communal supports from cross of the border mounted and finally took a violent turn in November 1989. Though the Indian state may not always have got it right in Kashmir, the dissent’s tailor made delineation represents intellectually dishonest simplification of the real issues, leaving aside the hazards associated with the intensely aggressive geopolitical forces at work.

The fateful periods of the independence of India on August 15, 1947, and Kashmir’s accession to it on October 26, 1947, is still fogged in mystery. But the most genuine truth at that time was that no one wanted Kashmir’s accession to Pakistan. Majority had a preference for its independence, but for different and complex reasons—Kashimiri Pandits were in favour of Indian state albeit on the covert condition of not losing Kashmir’s unique native identity.

Not even a tint of deviation from syncretism they would like as on line of the rest thinking Kashmiris—so far, there was not much hype of communal programming in the valley, this began and intensified only with the blunder of making Kashmir an international issue by moralistically overcharged Nehru in early 1950’s.

Consolidation of a nation like India had to happen through the diverse maneuverings on endless impediments—then inclusion of independent royalties in India was the most crucial among many citable challenges. Sardar Patel, a straight forward man, had tirelessly succeeded in making India with an impressive geographical size—he made the idea of sovereignty a complete prerogative of this newly born nation. But alas, this man was neither a sage nor an immortal being—so he passed away when the complete inclusion of Kashmir was still in progress. That shrewd political executioner passed away, rest the lead on Kashmir was transferred to Nehru, though as said he was by birth a Kashmiri but hardly a native in typical sense.

He had pious ideas, which were broader in outlook but unfortunately—people with whom he had to deal with on Kashmir—were of dishonest merits. Had he relied on the referendum or on hard action against the first attack of Pakistan in 1947, he could have easily escaped the unfortunate internationalization of Kashmir as a formidable dispute. Moreover, shady and impractical deals with Sheikh Abdullah at wrong times and most importantly the division of Kashmir sabotaged peace forever from these regions.

Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre’s interview with Mountbatten for their book, “Mountbatten and Independent India” (Vikas; page 37) makes clear the fatal motive of this unholy colonial moron, as in a conversation to Maharaja Hari Singh, he said: “the majority of your populations are Muslim”, but Hari Singh had replied “I don’t want to accede to Pakistan on any account…. I don’t want to join India either, because, if so (sic), I would feel that perhaps which’s not what the people of Kashmir wanted.

I want to be independent." Mountbatten told the authors, “I must tell you honestly, I wanted Kashmir to join Pakistan…(Sir Cyril) Radcliffe (Chairman of the India-Pakistan Boundary Commission) let us in for an awful lot of trouble by making it possible for them to accede to India,” by awarding to India a part of Gurdaspur, which facilitated the land link to Jammu and Kashmir.” Unfortunately those virulent designs were misunderstood by the high ranked and nosed politicians, particularly by Nehru and Jinnah that finally lead the Kashmir to a dangerous trajectory of conflict.

In 1971, India facilitated the secession of Pakistan’s easternmost province (now Bangladesh), which was another turning point that immensely affected any veritable advancement on Kashmir for many decades. India’s strategic win provoked Pakistan’s humiliated army and intelligence officials to pursue a policy of creating ‘strategic depth’ against India by seeking Pashtun clients inside Afghanistan for using them in Kashmir valley—that was not a squeak but a full-fledged design of proxy war directed to Kashmir through multiple active channels, including those of “communal interference”.

In the 1990s, many of the same Pakistani officials who helped supply the Mujahideen during the CIA-led anti-Soviet jihad in Afghanistan turned to fuelling the popular Islamic insurgency in India-ruled Kashmir—which in turn claimed more than 80,000 lives and exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the valley since1989. Throughout the last two and half decades, Pakistan’s intelligence agency, the ISI, trained and financed militant groups for jihad in Kashmir, even as it settled on the Taliban as its proxy in Afghanistan, which had been abruptly abandoned by the United States following the Soviet withdrawal.

Since then, once known for its opulent beauty and peace, the valley of Kashmir was forced to host the military occupation awkwardly against the theoretical democratic ethos of India. It’s indeed an unfortunate truth; the killings fields of Kashmir supersede those of Palestine and Tibet. Curfews, raids, and checkpoints have been routinely enforced by nearly 700,000 Indian soldiers—the valley's staying populations are harshly exposed to extra-judicial execution and torture. India has contained the insurgency provoked in 1989 but the growing disenchantment of the average Kashmiri from endemic military occupation of India is not comforting in any manner.

The hundreds of thousands of demonstrators that fill the streets of Kashmir's cities today are overwhelmingly young and desperate, most of them in their teens, and armed with nothing more than stones. Yet the spanking goes on, such sneaky approaches must be stopped and the different voices should approach our conscience. It’s true that Pakistan has lost its undeserving war in Kashmir from India and native Kashmiris, so now India must bolster its ties with the aspirations of Kashmiris, like it does with its citizens, atleast notionally.

Looking back on the ‘Chenab model’ would be worthwhile for knowing the conflation that disturbed the lives of Kashmiri Pandits from 1990 onward. This was aimed to partition Kashmir along the river Chenab, was conceived by political leaders, mostly from Pakistan to promote a communal agenda. “Most of the districts in Jammu and on the left bank of the Chenab are Hindu majority in the state of Jammu and Kashmir while in most of the districts on the western side of the Chenab, the Muslims are predominant,” wrote Sartaj Aziz in his book ‘Between Dreams and Reality’ (page 228).

“In short, the River Chenab will form the separation line between the Pakistan and Indian held areas …Since India was no longer willing to go back to the concept of Hindu versus Muslim majority, the Chenab formula basically converted a communal formula into a geographic formula since most of the Hindu majority is east of Chenab and Muslim majority districts are west of Chenab.” Unfortunately, some partial aim of this guff was come into reality through the incessantly untamed involvement of Pakistan and India’s own casing of the burning situation in Kashmir from any constructive public discourse.

The dispute over Kashmir is not just the most enduring flash-point in the relationship between India and Pakistan; it is, equally, the largest question-mark next to India’s claims to secularism and democracy. Nationalist passions, political imperatives, security concerns and emotions of bitterness and distrust (including those between Kashmiris themselves) have undermined much policy-making and scholarship. Kashmir, today, is known through the prism of triangular political relations: between Srinagar and New Delhi; between politicians and the public within Kashmir; and between Kashmir’s different regions and identity groups.

Autumn normally leaves dual effects on mind. This season in Kashmir once used to be the time of rejoice that continuity broken in 1990 with the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits and subsequently with the end of syncretism from valley. Never to forget, that was the culmination of incessant political follies directed towards the Kashmir which distorted the Kashmiriyat from the region where once Lal Ded and Noorudin Reshi were reflexive of all humane convictions in collective lives.

Introspection on the essence of Kashmiriyat could be too deep. It could be looked as far back as the time of Rajtarangini or Akbar’s colonisation of Kashmir, but here the focus should be unanimously channelised to draw the points: how the harmony in collective lives was the essence of Kashmiriyat and how it started losing those specialties of universalism with the partition in 1947? Post partition, Kashmir was one among the many troubled royalties but not most shaky in any terms. Then few would have thought about the evolvement of this paradise, as India’s weakness and centrepoint of notorious cold war politics!

These all developments happened in Jammu and Kashmir after India’s independence, and more resolutely with the most brutal catastrophe took place in the valley with the Kashmiri Pandit’s unfortunate exodus in 1990—down the twenty-four years, hibernation is still going on among the opinion makers and those cry for secularism and human rights for these people who are living outside their homeland. Those who made Kashmir a living ruin are being taken as leaders by the pseudo polemists of high caliber—only solace is such voices is not being taken seriously any longer and their low capacity to interface with the Kashmir’s history is a moving example of persisting ignorance among these noisy New Delhi/Srinagar based intellectual/separatist cohorts.

Over the decades, politics and high class but baseless discourses have produced mostly the trashes on Kashmir—the devoid from realities remains a harmful trend which is yet to be over, but chances are dim for such change. A better part of Kashmiriyat is already extinct from the valley, or it could be said, the loss of Kashmiriyat itself that used to bind together the religious diversities in special fold, caused for the outbreak of communalism in late 1980s.

In the course of time, the soft side of socio-cultural structure gave easy passage to the virulent mix of political-communal beliefs for replacement.

The devastating changes came into existence under the guise of horrible conspiracies from Pakistan. In response, the regime in Delhi and its unworthy ruling puppets in Jammu and Kashmir did alarmingly unwell in getting rid from the third party intervention that was being directed on almost war scale from the fraternity of crooks for their own illegitimate interests.

By playing under-capacity game, India has only become able to weaken the external conspiracies in Kashmir valley but still has to fight hard to foil it from the root—force alone can’t do it, whatsoever may be its might-ultimately, only the radical repulsion of masses from the nasty role of ‘third party’ and belief in their own capacity to negotiate with Indian state can lead to a point of peaceful accord.

It is daunting to take a stand on it, because related issues have been moulded so badly in the last six decades in various policy circles in India and outside that finding genuine ground and its non-categorized expression can be possible only on the self-risk of getting strictly good or bad points from the largely ‘undefined progressive blocks’.

Though those who parted from the valley in unimagined circumstances to save their life, dignity and successors, still carries the native originality alive with them. However, now the young generations of Kashmiri Pandits appear more part of the cosmic world than of those lost interwoven life of valley, Kashmiris’ were entitled for, before the insertion of full scale communalisation.

Still, those lived the community values, earnestly feel the absence of non-existent Pandits in valley and they want returning back of normalcy and calmness of old days. Most of the Kashmiri Pandits too, though settled across the world and leaving their mark in different fields have more sense of disbelief than any consolidated amount of anger for their lost neighbourhood. That’s the most positive social understanding still exists among the Kashmiris—even though they are living in distance through unnatural causes.

Even superlatively, politics can provide at best a kind of “turf” that ends with either the ‘state of solipsism’ or between tussle of stakeholders. This is only the socio-cultural combine that constructs the proper psyche of the social values, but most often they neglected. Not least, because in idealization process, good thoughts hardly considered for practical optimisation.

Low emphasis on the other components such as culture, shared past etc—which formats and strengthens the social order and falls beyond the direct purview of new state could be forwardly termed as contempt against the ancient fabric of old social realities.
Here is need of revisiting the truth: India as a nation is still very young, if comparing it with its very unique continuance as society for long through the stretches of history. In respect of Kashmir, crux of this little bit theorization could assist in forming a new ground of recuperating its socio-cultural distinctness back—and on later stage—coming in terms at collective level to decide on political course, without losing the sight from realities.

The conspiracies of various sorts caused for the turmoil inside once a living paradise, but now need is to look around what forced at social, cultural, psychological level that frozen and broke Kashmir? With impressive past and articulate lifestyle, the land which should have been the role model for peace, how turned to be among the most dangerous places of the world?

After the folly of last six and half decades, Indian side must deal with Kashmir in straight terms—without stretching the existing approaches of public diplomacy, which otherwise will keep downgrading the genuine aspirations in incompetency to engage effectively.

Searching nativity should be the main plank of displaced Kashmiris who tagged for long with an unjust and illogical suffix, Sharnarthi! Never was it justifiable inside a free state like India—only it was an illuminating stance of center’s failure to reach on the basic flaws of Kashmir issues and getting involved for a constructive way out. What we have witnessed rather a consistent derailment of the sensible concern, substituted by Hippocratic rise of local leadership which remains devoid to attain any rational purpose.

For Pakistan, Kashmir is an escape route from its ruined state of affairs—for India, it’s the profound entity of its secular credential—and for the local leadership, Kashmir is nothing more than a survival object. Puzzles are still there, so people must show the temptations of realignment with the Kashmiriyat and to continue their reliance on the democratic values. Circumstances may have made Kashmir a difficult terrain, but still it would be improper comparing it with a place like Palestine on many terms—as whenever something went wrong from the Indian side, public opinion always stood against it from all over India.

The issue of nation and nationalities could not be brokered by sentiments alone, history gives the choices based on facts and those facts are clearly in favour of India on Kashmir. Before Independence, consolidation of Indian territories through such grand centralization was never a reality—it’s not alone Kashmir that lost its royal rule and witnessed a sort of break-up in local rule. Most of India’s princely states merged and aligned in nation-making but the Kashmir took the different route with no clear destination ahead.

Agha Shahid Ali, a Kashmiri-American poet who has written ‘The country without post office,’ died at a young age in the USA. He could be a very apt frame of reference in knowing what the idea of native belonging is. How does it appear from a distant land and in adverse time? Amitav Ghosh’s long essay, The Ghat of the Only World: Agha Shahid Ali in Brooklyn (February 11,2002, The Nation), which he has written as he promised his friend during his last days in Brooklyn provides the intricate details of looking on one’s troubled motherland with vivid charm and apprehensions.

Agha was a believer in composite culture, not surprising, as his drawing room had more Hindu deities than Islamic icons—there was nothing religious about that, rather merely it was a continuance of liberal collective bond. It’s true, Shahid wanted his last days to be spent in Kashmir and that was quite a normal wish for a sensible soul like him. The Pandits, those in forced exile too feel similarly despite having lived away from the valley for a long time. Do the separatists have any answer for such basic needs which a major chunk of Kashmiris lacking badly? Infact not, and why they are they supposed to look into this?

It’s hard to get a forethought on what would be the shape and sequence of separatist politics in Kashmir but it’s an open secret and no conjecture that neither those who left the valley found any political representation, nor who stayed in the valley—from mainstream political parties. From political standpoint, it’s bewildering. A democracy essentially should mean for the people and alongside for its institutions. Over the decades, Indian democracy has stablised well, though fissures are still many and in coping those, the centre has not kept so impressive track record.

Whether in North East or in Kashmir, the major fallout of keeping aside the people’s aspiration proved detrimental in reaching out the right kind of solution. State has primarily to learn how to deal with its citizens uniformly and not by vindictively treating the dissent voices, whose demands otherwise could be considered very benignly. Those throwing stones in valley or updating posts on social media against the state’s repression are not the enemies of the Indian union—rather enemies are those who serve through legitimate channels and consistently betray the real issues related to the fate of Kashmir.

The bone of contention that could be drawn from Kashmir is that those who are in valley are living in quagmire with alienation towards the nation’s progress. They are not being able to entitle with the good dividends that the economic rise of India is giving-up to young population in its rest part. For most of stone palters, life could be more smooth and promising have they provided an alternative way of thinking and opportunity to succeed. Unfortunately state is doing abysmal on this by taking such protests more as ‘security issues’ rather politically-economically generated dissatisfaction.

Over a long debate with one of my journalist friends from Kashmir, he asked me why we should celebrate Sachin Tendulkar’s performance on the cricket ground— though he wished, if he could do it and other matters where India has lead. His point of view was hard to denounce, as he was speaking more clearly from the heart and by knowing the existing situation on ground —but I finally made my point with citing that the same aspiration that is not flourishing today among the young Kashmiris would be not static forever and very soon the change will make it happen that Kashmir may host all the symbols of ‘new mainstream’: from cricket, fashion to industry. Apropos of our statements, we finally agreed that wariness is still high but hope shouldn’t be ruled out from the future either.

The new generations of Kashmiri Pandits are upwardly mobile and whatever was their difficult past, now they are availing the right fruit by converging with the changing times. But naturally they still have quest to involve with the Kashmir, and that’s for good. As the shape of political cunningness is well evident now, there are feeble chances for separatist ideology to remain in mainframe for long in Kashmir. However, the state’s insensitivity would be a big deterrent to thrive on the positive chances. Still, the truth-telling should be wishfully continued and the stunning disclosures too must be acknowledged properly by the concerned affiliates on Kashmir.

Despite the major breakup of opinion, it is still nice to see Kashmiri Pandits more apolitical than falling as piggyback of fundamentalist forces, which plays wrong politics and generates hate on the similar line that Islamic fundamentalists have been doing in clusters. The true justice either for Kashmiri Pandits or for every Kashmiris would only take place with stronger denouncement of communal stands in political negotiation and by searching the true secular ideas, which will make the state and its citizens’ passive with religious over-exhibit.

The issue of Kashmir is indeed political in nature but intensification of all wrong precedents could thrive and strive by the crafted communal agendas—the cold war politics ended long back in 1991, but Kashmir sustained its wounded legacy and India’s weak stand to curb militancy in its early days. Once it reached to the valley, it took time to get solemnised. The barbed wires replaced the scenic beauties of Dal Lake and Nishat Bagh and all the Kashmiri Pandits become homeless overnight—all what communalism has given to the Kashmir.

In post independent India, the forced eviction of Pandits from the Kashmir valley was one amongst the most brutal tragedies. As it happened under a consolidated democracy at that time, the state had lesser excuses than during India’s partition way back in 1947. It is shocking to ponder why their plights are still not part of large secular discourse that makes aghast in calling ourselves a nation with democracy. All humans are equal, as idealist as it may sound but with believing this, the cruel play of communal politics could be halted.

The US realised that terrorism exists, only after the 9/11attack took place on its land. Since then, it played the role of a good consensus ally with India on Kashmir. It is wishful India too should realise though not in the spellbinding influence of USA—but through own approaches that the greater common good is possible, only through practicing secular ideas and not through the hypocritical preaching. Essentially, Kashmir should be taken as a living space which has a recognizable past and many set of people, including Pandits and other suffering masses. With remorse on what happened in 1990s, the valley is waiting for its
Pandits—only the state can make it or not. And the people are waiting for justice, for their voices to be heard.
-Atul K Thakur
Email: summertickets@gmail.com
(Published in The Kashmir Walla on February24,2014)

Makers of the Modern Maithili Literature

Knowing the modern Maithili literature through the angle of social history has remained elusive so far. This piece(its full version is anthologized in Mithila:Rich Heritage,Proud Identity/edited by Ratneshwar Mishra&Pankaj Kumar Jha,Readers Press2013) attempts to draw the attention back to the five remarkable Maithili writers of the twentieth century, who left deep impressions on Maithili literature and Mithila’s socio-cultural fabric. Five writers viz; Harimohan Jha, Baidyanath Mishra ‘Yatri’, Rajkamal Chaudhary, Lalit and Dhumketu have been chosen for looking on a creatively charged phase that also was a very productive time for Maithili literature

Harimohan Jha: The renaissance man of Maithili Literature
Harimohan Jha, the renaissance man of the language of great Vidyapati and Jyotireshwar Thakur was born on September 18 1908. His father, Pandit Janardan Jha ‘Janshidan’ was a great scholar and had credit of being the first modern novelist in Maithili.

The year 1933, was proved epochmaking for the Maithili literature and for that, big credit goes to Harimohan Jha. This year, his magnum-opus novel, Kanyadan received an unprecedented response from literati as well as from the common folks-later it became a household name. It’s worth noting that, Harimohan Jha has written this book in his undergraduate years in Patna University, and by the time of its release, he was only in his mid twenties.

This novel, Kanyadan, proved milestone of success in Maithili literature with amazing popularity and reach. This book simply attained the scale, which no other literary work in Maithili has succeeded to meet again. Harimohan Jha has chosen satirical expression to lodge his dissatisfaction with the prevailing stark ignorance in the life of Maithili women. The female protagonist, ‘Buchhi Dai’s feeble awareness of worldly knowledge reflects the lack of education and progressive approaches in the contemporary Maithili society.

Her indifference with the expectations of a young university student/groom, C.C.Mishra earmarked the narration of further text to an extent. It was Harimohan Jha’s own experience that compelled him to write for female emancipation.
Only he slightly changed the locale and used Banaras Hindu University in place of Patna University, where he went through the similar feelings and conceptualization of his rock-solid thoughts. Legendary mark of his first work encouraged him for its sequel, Dwiragman, which came in 1949 and proved equally sensational since it was seen as footprint of women’s emancipation.

Harimohan Jha was a focussed multitasker, so he also remarkably contributed to the stream of philosophy; with Nyay Darshan in 1940 and Vaisheshik Drshan in 1943. He kept the flamboyance till 1960 and produced iconic works like-Pranamya Devta (1945), Khattar Kakak Tarang (1948), Rangsala (1949), Tirth Yatra (1953), Charchari (1960), Nigman Tarkshastra (1952), Bhartiya Darshan (Translation, 1953).

He was true repository of verbal intelligence and had equal commitment for verses; he composed numerous meaningful poems to unleash those specialties. His poems like ‘Maach’, ‘Dhala Jha’, ‘Buchkun Baba’, Pundit O’ Mem’, ‘Pundit,’ etc., were vigorously energized. Harimohan Jha consolidated great moments in Maithili literature along with his contemporaries.

He kept his creative fervor till the end of his life-his research work ‘Trends of Linguistic Analysis in Indian Philosophy’ (post retirement) justified his perfect commitment. The only regret of his creative life remained the cinematic adaptation of his representative novel, Kanyadan- its alien direction and cold responses from the viewers further restrained him to allow such more experiments.

This is a less known fact that Harimohan Jha was also an accomplished editor, which he displayed in Jayanti Smarak (Pushtak Bhandar, 1942) along with Acharaya Shivpujan Sahay and Achutanand Datta. This work holds unique position in Maithili language. At the same time he was a great oral traditionist, with amazing command over the Mimansa (a philosophical branch, originated from Mithila). Khattar Kakkak Tarang is the outcome of those experimental metaphors.

To summarize, Harimohan Jha’s literary contributions have relentless universal values and would remain undeniable. In fact, his literary journey was like the soul-searching of his loving region, for that, he precisely tried to cover its intricacies.

The World of Yatri

Baidyanath Mishra, who with his independent and resilient intellect came to known as Yatri, Nagarjun and most remarkably the peoples’ poet, i.e. Jankavi, naturally left overarching effects on the modern Maithili and Indian literature.

Defying all odds, young Baidyanath started learning through traditional Sanskrit and Maithili education in his maternal village and later moved to Kashi in the quest of further knowledge. He was a great informal learner that adaptability might have shaped with the chronic adverseness he faced, but finally that established him as a major scholar of Maithili, Sanskrit, Hindi, Bangla, Pali and Prakrit.

Except of short overtures in family, 1930’s onward, Yatri remained completely align with writing and traveling. He was naturally closer to the instinct, rather than a follower of mechanical cognition order. Here, he was close to Tagore- both valued the natural human instinct in place of surpassable artificial affiliations.

The basic difference between these two great poets were of not world views but of approaches; Tagore with his aristocratic background was obviously an elitist unlike Yatri, whose background and construction of psyche both were akin to people-centric and based on the social realities.

Culturally, Mithila had commonalities with Bengal, but on the socio-economic counts there used to exist a huge drift between them, lack of urbanization and modern temptations were among the foremost reasons of reality check. Although, Yatri was also a keen naturalist like Tagore but again the differences were existing on the institutional levels. If Tagore had vision for an institution like Shantiniketan, and later globally institutionalizing his own literary and artistic works, Yatri, on the other hand had incessant devoid with such possibilities.

Though with his strong standing against the unfortunate social stigmas, he heralded a revolutionary wave of progressivism inside and outside of the Mithila and established himself as first modern Maithil on national and international literary arena.
Meanwhile, in the course of experiments with the knowledge, this freethinker came under the Buddhist influence, though it was short lived as he couldn’t suppress his embedded Maithili progressivism. But before that, Yatri travelled across the Tibet, Central Asia and Sri lanka (Kelania). Even after he left the Buddhist commune, his cult name ‘Nagarjun’ followed him forever, which reminds another contemporary literary figure and also a Buddhist, Rahul Sankritayan.

In the late 1930’s, he again entwined with Communism, though it remained his part of vision throughout the remaining life. He was progressive minded both in life and writing. Yatri had struggled against the authoritative extreme, equally during the independence struggle against British and in post-independent India against the authoritarianism of political classes.

He spent time in Jail in 1939-42 and again during emergency (1975-77). Like a true maverick, he remained attracted with the peoples’ causes for their upliftment as he struggled along with the eminent peasant leader, Swami Sahjanand Saraswati (Founder, Kisan Sabha) during colonial period and later under the Socialist movements including in JP Movement.

Because of such orientation, Yatri was considered one among the finest Bengali Hungry Generation Poets-naturally he is regarded only next to Tulsidas for stellar convictions on mass issues. Yatri’s literary expressions are universal, but whenever he touched the themes of Mithila, a unique and very close affinity came out there. He had in mind the prevailing realities of Mithila’s socio-economic scene and its challenges for an equitable and just society.

With broadness of canvasses and amazing hold over the translation skills, Yatri’s work hardly leaves any technical dialectism between Maithili-Hindi; most of his works are available in both the languages. As a poet, he could visualize beauty in oddness and grief in lavishness, so writing on the jackfruit or icefall at hill stations were equally kin to him.

His collection of poetries Patrahin Nagna Gaachh, Yugdhara, Satrange Pankhon Wali, Taalab ki Machhliyan, Khichhri Viplab Dekha Hamne, Hajaro-Hajaro Banhon Wali, Purani Juliyon ka Koras, Tume Kaha Tha, Aakhir Aisa Kya Kah Diya Maine, Es Gubbare ki Chhaya Me, Ye Danturit Mushkaan, Main Military ka Budhha Ghora, Baadal ko Ghirte Dekha Hai, and Paka Hai ye Kathal introduces to his wider reach among the common folks and intricacies of humanity.

He was never been a subversive preacher despite possessing strong anger against the existing social-political order, instead his progressive stand enabled him to be a rational chronicler. Yatri’s novels Ratinath ki Chachi, Balchanma, Baba Batesar Nath, Nai Puadh or Nav Turia, Barun ke Bete, Dukhmochan, Ugratara, Jamania ka Baba, Kumbhi Paak, Paaro, Aasman me Chand Taare exudes the diversity of Maithil as well as the Indian villages under new set of conditions.

With great exposure to the outside world, his memoirs, travelogue and even hundreds of published letters give delight and zest to the readers, while passing through his writings. His collection of essays-Annan Hinam Kriyanam, a work on culture-Desh Dashkam aa Krishak Deshkam, his travelogue-Baadlo ko Ghirte Dhekha Hai, his satire-Mantra Kavita and Aao Rani Han Dhoenge Palki and many Bangla poetries introduces to his broader conceptual grasp with amazing expressions over the range of themes.

Yatri had a unique credit of making a generation of writers/critics in both the Maithili and Hindi, fortunately that worked out well for literary discipline. Like Phanishwar Nath “Renu”, he never had to face the reckless wrath of preoccupied critics-even
Namwar Singh couldn’t maintain his ‘line of regionalism’ on his writings.

Despite all wandering and fame, he remained essentially a non-possessive man, attached to his route; his village Tarauni remained closest to his heart. In all probability, he would remain a loving ‘Baba’ for many generations.

Geniusity of Rajkamal Chaudhary

Maithili language and literature has been culminating through a long walk in history until it had seen an arrival of a new genre of writers in the mid part of twentieth century. Looking back to that generation and recalling giants like Rajkamal Chaudhary, Baidyanath Mishra ‘Yatri’ (Nagarjun), Harimohan Jha, Lalit, Dhumketu could be awestrucking for literary enthusiasts.

Rajkamal Chaudhary was a stock of genius who led Maithili literature to a new posture, which was dragging previously and largely failing to extrapolate the numerous unconventional approaching problems from the changing social dynamics.
Rajkamal Chaudhary was a doyen of Maithili literature and even one among the doyens in Indian literature, if the barrier of language could be taken lightly, then his work has universal claim with myriad of entrusted broad concerns.

Rajkamal Chaudhary was the most prolific writer in Maithili, here he justified his name. His family members deserves credit for tracing the jewels like quality in an infantile and naming him so meticulously as, Rajkamal, Manindra, Phul Babu (Traditional Maithili call name for loving one), much before he attained the scholarship and fame.
Rajkamal Chaudhary was an articulate user of letters and with amazing farsightedness. Hence he aspired and succeeded in three major areas of literary expressions: novel, story and poetry writings. Comparatively, prose was his major thirst of action, but still he penned numbers of poetries in both Maithili and Hindi-many of them though failed to appear in physical shape.

In spite of concealment, we are presently capable to clasp his six collection of poems, namely as Kankavati, Audit Report, Mukti Prasang, Vichitra, Swargandha and Macchli Jaal, and many more may be in future if proper strive would be made to retrieve those scribbled verses. Rajkamal was a promising creationist who barely allowed any irrational restraint to enter in his writings; his poetry reveals it likewise and its epithet, which consists high sensuality with diverse humane plights, sound immaculately.

Here, it would be quite imperative to recall that Rajkamal Chaudhary had conceited views about his Maithil identity and he never stepped down to derive metaphors for his creative vision from his native milieu. There were many reasons to postulate such affection for strife ridden Mithila through expounding the contemporary harsh realities of the region.

Quite naturally, Rajkamal was closely integrated with that intellectual fraternity, which used to keep eagle watch on the worldwide movements and overtly persuaded to modify the faulty axioms. Rajkamal remained unbeaten from the criticism for his daring and unconventional stand in his life time. He was an astute visionary of his generation, who pronounced inner contradiction of human mind as catalyst for all external complexities of social relationships.

Further, he emphasized on the western way of psychoanalysis and enviously drew points from Freudian psychoanalysis to unleash the unconventional and forbidden relationships. In his personal life and writing, he had upfronted with the elegiac concern for harsh realities besides enjoining to solve the persisting behavioural ills.

Rajkamal poignantly followed and tried to curb the ramifications of such deviations through his novels in Hindi-Machhli Mari Hui and Taash Ke Pattoon Ka Sahar are foremost among them, which tries to contempt the immoral fabrication and illicit relationships in elitist circles. His other novels in Hindi Nadi Bahti Thi, Sahar Tha Sahar Nahi Tha, Agni Snan, Bis Ranion ke Bioscope, Dehgatha (Suno Brijrani), Ek Anar Ek Bimar and Aaranyak similarly resembled his concern for the hippocratic guise of eliteness.

In Maithili, he has written three highly sensible novels: Aadikatha, Patharphul and Andolan- the last one was based on the Maithili language movement in Calcutta which also marked his own involvement in the movement.
Rajkamal was among the finest story tellers of his time, so not surprising, if his writings have been inspiring the succeeding literary generations. It is truly amazing to see the huge number of stories in both Maithili and Hindi he managed, apart from writing many plays and hundreds of essays in his short life.

His first published story, ‘Aprajita’ (Vaidehi, October1954) presents subtle account of perennial natural tragedy of Mithila, i.e. floods and its repercussions on human lives through a desperate train journey; his ‘Andhakar’ (Vaidehi, May1953) tells on contradictory relationship under the shadow of religion, partition and sin. ‘Phulparaswali’ (Vaidehi, August 1955) could be remembered as his magnum opus, which illuminates the moral strength of Maithil women in distressed phase.

Rajkamal reaches to the zenith through depicting Rickshaw puller protagonist, Shadashiv as his cousin and finally weaves a very meticulous set of relationships among them with centralizing the presence of Phulparaswali that symbolizes surviving ethical virtue of Maithil women. ‘Lalka Paag’ (Vaidehi, Katha Visheshank, 1955), which ends with the dramatic realisation, reveals untold moral victory of first wife over heart wrenching male chauvinism.

‘Kirtaniya’ (Vadehi, January1956) sketches the life of beggars; ‘Kopad’ (Vaidehi, May 1956) ends with the progressive ideas of inter caste marriage; ‘Damyantiharan’ (Vaidehi, July1956) comes with a story of conditionally deprived family indulged in flesh trade for survival which strike with similar delineation of east Bengal’s refugees plights in Ritwik Ghatak’s cinema like Bari Theke Paliye.

‘Channar Das’ (Vaidehi, September1956) tells the incarnation of a beggar’s pair for new life out from their existing profession; ‘Kiranmayee’ (Rachna Sangrah, 1956, in first All India Maithili Literary Conference) narrates the premature widowhood, sacrifice and empathies for plight but inability to materialize them in absence of resources.

Rajkamal’s ‘Satti Dhanukain’ (Pallavi May 1957) depicts the betrayal of husband with a commuted wife; ‘Kharid- Bikri’ (Pallav June 1957) raises the concern for immorality of perception with a wretched woman affected by the partition; ‘Babu Sahebak Tik’ (Vaidehi, July 1957) witnesses the metamorphosis of a falling feudal amidst the market pressure and leverages of city life; ‘Sahastra-Menka’ (Mithila Darshan Visheshank 1957) reveals the ill social treatment with helpless widows and wretched of Mithila.

‘Mugdha-Vimugdha’ (Pallav, March 1958) throws light on the debacle of unmatched marriage, ‘Mallhak Tol: Ek Chitra’ (Vaidehi, August 1958) is concerned with the plight of Mallah (fishermen) community, possess an important place in the Mithila’s fish crazy society, in very short space, he captures their actual reality. ‘Yatrak Aant’ (Mithila Darshan 1958) leads to a scenario of impoverished socio-economic structure of Calcutta in which a helpless parent caught in severe daily struggle to save their ill son and dignity of daughter in law.

‘Kamalmukhi Kaniyan’ (Kathaparag 1958) candidly attacks on the pseudo perceptions of dominant male community about women-it’s a frontal attack on the male chauvinism. ‘Aakash-Ganga’ (Mithila Darshan Visheshank 1959) is an account of a falling feudal father and his relationship with estranged daughter, who married against his wishes-the story concludes with his proactive and judicious move, which also marks the inception of flexibility within feudal structure.

‘Kadambari Upkatha’ (Vaidehi March 1960) is based on the frank bearing of humane conviction of a childless widow, who crosses all the artificial boundaries of caste, opportunism, jealousness etc; ‘Panidubbi’ (Mithila Mihir 10th May 1964) reflects the inner state of a newly wedded women during her first journey on steamer, she simply lost in her circle of belongingness, recalls the closed nature of contemporary Maithil women.

His ‘Surma Sagun Bichare Na’ (Mithila Mihir, 9th May 1965) moves around the infatuation for bereaved wife that seems like a dutiful sacrifice and also transcend his honest commitments in relationships; ‘Ghari’ (Mithial Mihir, 30th January 1966) shows the romance in inter religious web which eventually conclude with the interference of domestic compulsions.

‘Maach’ (Mithila Mihir, 30th January 1966) is a spectacular delineation of ‘craze’ for the auspicious fish among Maithil’s, this story is loaded with heavy symbolism and sophisticated representation of Maithil life philosophy for a cross cultural debate. ‘Sanjhak Gaach’ (Mithila Mihir 13th March 1966) is stuffed with the gloomy inferences from its protagonist who caught in wrenched contradiction about his prospective role with belongingness.

‘Samudra’ (Mithila Mihir 11th September 1966) presents the confrontation of female protagonist for her existential being in broad framework, it’s a saga of unmatched matrimonial tie-up; ‘Param Priya Nirmohi Balam Hammar Pranpati’ (Mithila Mihir, 30th October1966) is consist with a marathon letter of newly wedded wife to her husband about her expectations in full sense of humour.

It was the characteristics of Rajkamal Chaudhary to present a serious theme in satirical way. ‘Kichhu Alikhit Patra’ (Maithili Darshan), written with the pseudo name of Anamica Chaudhary in extraordinary and candid craft, exposes the plight of subjugated women of Mithila.

This story touches the ultimate height of realistic fiction. ‘Gamme Rati Rati Me Gam’ (Bharti Mandan) virtually breaks the illusion from village; he found same sinful habitual practices in village too as they were frequent in the urban space. ‘Bahindai, Aspatal, Bangam Aa Kono Ekta Sapna’ (Mithila Mihir, 30th April1967) narrates the story of Bahindai, a young widow faces a new proposal of material life but remains undetermined, this is another jolt on the unmatched matrimony that creates such scene. ‘Ekta Champakali Ekta Vishdhar’ (Mithila Mihir, 15th June 1975) appeared posthumously, which reached to the real causes of improper marriage.

He had chosen a punishing hardship on personnel front, nature too given only its cruel verdict for this epoch maker. The eventuality came with his untimely demise on 7th June1967. Rajkamal or Phool Babu was loved and hated among his folks, but his premature demise, combating with deadly disease left deep strain among the literary enthusiasts in Mithila and outside of it.
Over four and half decades of his death, his works have still not received the deserved prominence and respect.

Lalit: Man of Change in Maithili Literature

Lalit, like his name came out with novelty in Maithili literary scene in 1950’s through his sensible mass concern. Officially, Lalitesh Mishra or affectionately ‘Bachha’ was born on April 6, 1932 in a village of scholars-Chanpura that despite falling in the catchments region of Adhwara river group has unique distinction of intellectual contribution.

Geographically, it is situated in the western side of Benipatti Sub-division (Madhubani district), which was once known as ‘Masco of Mithila’ for its strong Communist base and extensive land reform movements. He intertwined to literature with sturdy enrapture and published his first story in Maithili, ‘Kabula’ (Vaidehi, 1950). Despite sporadic writing, Lalit’s works are insightful for reckoning the Mithila of his time.

Lack of proper documentation and non-availability of older issues of old Maithili magazines restricts a reader to enter in Lalit’s writing. In his total forty-seven published stories, only twelve could be assembled in his lone story collection (Pratinidhi Kahani, Maithili Art Press, Navkiran Prakashan, Calcutta, 1964).

Among his two novels, only Prithviputra was published from Maithili Academy (1984), before that it was appeared serially in a prominent contemporary Magazine, Mithila Mihir (10/05/1960 to 5/7/1964). Also about a dozen of his essays transfixed the enthusiasts of his generation and added new paradigm within existing literary space. His remarkable stories sensibly delineate the socio-cultural intricacies, even within the humble canvasses. Without relying on complex narration, he had vision to entangle with very serious existential issues.

Prithviputra stormed the Maithili literary world with underneath subjectivism. Though the works were quite analomous from Lalit as he had already crossed a long stretch convincing people towards the approaches to see the social change in new light. The plots of the novel were woven in Farbisganj (Kosi belt) as it starts with the impact of social changes on the conventional social system immediately after the independence of India. Consequences of the land reform widely take place in the entire theme.

Lalit had ingenuity for tracing and dwelling on key issues of his time, though he had tenuous hold on his life like every mortal. Merely at the age of fifty-one, he passed away on April 14, 1983 with battling Liver Syrosis in Betia. Prominent weekly Mithila Mihir’s Lalit special (29th May 1983) had awoken the sleeping consine of Maithil society for the illustrating works of this great man. Within two decades, his death was the second traumatic casualty for the Maithili literature followed by the untimely demise of Rajkamal Chaudhary.

Theirs untimely departure left Maithili literary writings less spirited. They both remained very close and heralded a new chapter in Maithili literature. Lalit had translated Rajkamal’s epic story, Phulparas Wali into the Maithili and later written Mukti, which stands opposite and its protagonist is more radical than the woman lead of Rajkamal, who appears moralistic. Lalit remained humble in his relationship with old friends and literary companions. On several occasions, he laid stress that

Rajkamal‘s "Kankavati" was a well articulated poetic work in Hindi.Today, Lalit’s contribution is largely unknown. Proper documentation and translation of his works in other Indian languages would give a new lease to his prolific literary works. Those long waited initiatives must begin now, as any further delay may permanently fix the Maithili literary enthusiasts as ‘Principled forgetter- a dooming zone where creative things ceases to exist!

Dhumketu: An Unexposed Giant of Maithili Literature
On 25th January 1932, Bholanath Jha ‘Dhumketu’ was born in an elite family of village Koilakh. His transformation from Bholanath Jha to Dhumketu was an initiation of his revolutionary journey that furthered his consistent switching in material life.

Dhumketu had enormous impact of Freudian psychology like his contemporary great writer, Rajkamal Chaudhary. Ideologically too, both were very close. Both defied the orthodox patterns of Maithil society and tried to reach in very complex corner of human mind. Dhumketu believed story as a struggle between ID and EGO, so inner conflicts of mind covers his literary themes in big way.

His first published story in Maithili was Didi (1952) which got high acclaim in literary circles that further encouraged him emphatically. Though he was inclined towards the prose, but later he had also found taste to write some great poetry in Maithili like Dak Peen (1956) and Ek Ber Pher Rajdhani Main (1977)-both the anthology deserves better attention.

It was quite unfortunate for a great writer like him to got published only one collection of stories (Agurban, 1980) in his life time, even though he had written more than forty stories, two novels and dozens of poems besides some memoirs, travelogues and articles. One among his novels ‘Sannipat’ serially published in an obscure magazine, Bharti Mandan and his second novel ‘Mor Par’ (2000) could be published only after his death.

His other two works were published posthumously; Udyast (collection of stories, 2002-03) and second was Nav Kavitak Navinta. He has written two memoirs in the fond memory of his contemporary, Rajkamal Chaudhary. First, ‘Vishwasht Avishwashniya’ and second, ‘Suryapatan’ (Sunset) - both were published in Mithila Mihir, just after the premature demise of Rajkamal Chaudhary. Even his two obscure articles posses the qualities of elegant narration.

The stories of Dhumketu, like ‘Manukhak Devta’, ‘Kulta’ and ‘Bihairi’ are genuinely deserve to be compared with Yatri’s Paro (A short novel) and Rajkamal Chaudhary’s Sugna Sagun Bichare. A very minute depiction of relationships, which often crosses the socially approved threshold are unique characteristics of these stories. Dhumketu made scintillating efforts to unravel the ugly orthodox norms of Maithil society.

On some occasions, he even sounded too vocal and impatient about the existing deformities. His less known stories like, Hamara Aaur and Shivir present a very candid delineation of deteriorating moral standard in society. His writings are diverse and sensually very sound; most of his writings justify it.

Stories like, Dansh presents a very complex relationship in a long time frame between male and female protagonist. Sanbandh Bodh and Manukhak Devta present two very different and unusual attitudes towards relationship; Sambandh Bodh visualises lost relationship to an extreme level.

On the other end, Manukhak Devta narrates an awkward relationship between a maritally disturbed daughter and an aged widower father. The story constructed around the ‘social limits’, exposes unpleasant conditions around the corner. Dhumketu with his serious narration tried to assault on the discriminatory matrimonial structure of Mithila.

The story ends with many question marks on the prevailing social conditions. His other story, Pita focuses on the relationship between father and son, in which father ethically supersedes with making a fine balance in family order.

Dhumketu’s following three stories deserve more accolades for the sensible orientation of themes. First, Bauasin shows an acute picture of falling feudal structure of Mithila, where its lone survivor appears a metaphor for the serious deterioration. Second Vightan lucidly visualises the child psychology and further articulate with emphasis on conventions which ends with the honest confessions of prime characters.

Third, Udyast establishes a minute observation of disabled and downtrodden life, which is generally overlooked from the mainframe of social system. Indeed, Dhumketu proved his commitment towards the grave mass issues, which assisted him in broadening of his creative horizons and further allowed in constituting his own desired creative world.

Dhumketu, reached to the zenith of his creativity by writing most comprehensive and detailed novel in Maithili, Mor Par (2000), which is primarily based on the period from 1945 to 1970, though in patches, also consists some pictures of 1942 movements.

The novel emerges from the transformational phase of India’s independence movement and in later course with the politics of development; with well thought out points, it raises questions on the relevance of Independence.

Dhumketu had maximized the limit of literature in inquiring social and individual deformities, and also some goodness. He thoroughly dreamt and struggled for a tolerant and egalitarian socio-economic order and less hippocratic cultural practices.

-Atul K Thakur
Email: summertickets@gmail.com

Wrong advice that we must avoid

Banking reforms are definitely needed, but they have to be driven by recommendations that people who are thoroughly conversant with the sector, make

The idea of inclusion, otherwise a ‘progressive hypothesis', has been sadly confused with ‘technical overplay' by the Reserve Bank of India and the Union Ministry of Finance. The most sightable case is Aadhar that lays too much emphasis on technical procedures and the opening of a maximum number of bank accounts. But merely having a bank account does not make someone genuinely aligned with formal banking.

Financial inclusion is a broader aim, and its ambit is far too wide to be limited to symbolic gestures. The incentive-based system, especially in private sector, has rather ensured the low effect of recently channelised banking access. In such a backdrop, Mr Nachiket Mor-headed Committee on Comprehensive Financial Services for Small Businesses and Low Income Households, makes the chance of financial sector reform even more distant.

The sharp corporate edge is visible in the recommendations of this committee — as it was expected of RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan. Quite naturally then, Mr Mor has seen the real solution of financial inclusion in covering each and every Indian with a bank account in next 24 months.

It is not that all initiatives taken by the RBI in the past had failed. Some did really well in increasing the delivery of institutional credit and relationship-based banking with the masses. In the first four decades after India's independence (1951-1991), the reach to institution credit went up from 7.2% to 64 per cent but to fail again at level 57 per cent with the opening of economy that year. Also money lenders have largely stayed on in the post-reform era, with some statistical differences.

They kill business with spirits of ‘wayward innovation' and walk easy step in this jubilant phase, when lobby rules the whole course. Mr Mor has missed an opportunity to re-define the utility of micro-lending. Instead, he committed blunder by underestimating the contribution of regional rural banks and cooperative societies. Probably out of focus, he couldn't check the past and present of RRBs, which are serving the rural segments, and solemnising the real intent of financial inclusion.

The RBI has played stringent with the branch affairs at banks. It is hardly a revelation, though the committee presented both malady and cure as something in fledgling state. Even before the birth of this committee, Mr D Subbarao, the former RBI Governor, had taken some crucial steps which, although not in the limelight, have done well in relaxing certain norms of banking.

In the ambit of financial inclusion, the basic rights should begin with making banking simple and accessible to all. Moreover, the services offered should be diversified and not restricted to offering a bank account, and stay satisfied. The overtures with people have to be at fast pace and fine carved out — disconnect with people or potential client makes the equilibrium of ‘good intent and business', impossible to achieve.

While opening another round of bank licensing, Mr Rajan has a fair opportunity to circulate in the vein of new entrants, sustainable determination to go ahead for achieving genuine financial inclusion. A lot would depend on how the RBI will deal with the aspiring banks and those existing ones.

A great deal has to be achieved in the months ahead, but mostly without any support from Mr Mor's recommendations. The RBI will realise this sooner than later. Next time, hopefully, it will include some bankers who have worked across this wonderland. India is a complex set of systems and our corporate lieutenants need to sharpen their knowledge and intuitions thoroughly, if they have to remain relevant in the changing environment.
-Atul K Thakur
Email: summertickets@gmail.com
(Published in The Pioneer,on January21,2014)

The break Nitish Kumar will rue

As long as the Janata Dal (United) remained aligned with the Bharatiya Janata Party, Lalu Prasad and Ram Vilas Paswan could be kept at arm’s length. By snapping ties with the BJP, the JD(U) will feel the heat

Bihar is passing through an unprecedented transition. This time it is imposed by the political compulsions rather by malfunctioning of the state machinery, which hitherto plagued the State on many occasions. The JD(U) and the BJP had changed the political discourse at the height of the RJD’s misrule together.

The end of the JD(U)-BJP coalition in Bihar has returned the subversive rhetoric to the forefront, which makes the present political scene in the State look like what it was in the 1990s. Back then, the Left and the Congress were in bonhomie with the RJD to fight the imagined threat to communal harmony. Although toothless, they will now do something similar in the Lok Sabha election to escape slipping through the cracks of untravelled political routes.

The Lok Janshakti Party’s Ram Vilas Paswan is too consistent in his own way. He has been a face of central politics, and his coalition choice will be decided according to which major alliance will have a better shot at Delhi’s throne.
Lalu Prasad’s son is another politician who was born into this role out of miserable cricket career and his father’s lack of trust in the senior leaders of his motley camp.

So, Mr Tejashwi Yadav is a poster boy and together with RJD’s old horse, Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, they are struggling hard to make their presence felt on the rough political turf of Patna.

This is the state of affairs inside the opposition parties in Bihar. Their claim of giving the State a better governance model than the present regime is based on flawed raw material and reckless manoeuvrings. However, the three-dimensional polarisation in the State will give leeway to a certain extent to these parties. But assuming that edge too significant would be an over-estimation.

It is axiomatic that in isolation, both the JD(U) and the BJP will see the upcoming election unprecedentedly tough.
The division of votes and the lack of a natural ally for any potential coalition will haunt both the camps equally. Danger is looming large for another round of devastating political plays by the desperate RJD and the LJP. They will not prefer missing any chance to get back the State.

Development as a political agenda was not commonplace in Bihar before the NDA rose to command in Bihar in 2005. The feudal construct in the State significantly diminished in subsequent years. Besides, social and political changes fast-paced and Bihar performed remarkably well in economic sphere too. But in the changed circumstances now, it is uncertain that the erstwhile component of the NDA will be able to reap any benefits out of that success.

Another crucial factor is the rising expectation of the masses from the Government. This is a positive phenomenon and even if the State Government is being criticised for not curing all ills of public services, it should be seen differently. Recently, Bihar has overcome its chronic power crisis too, next in line with other visible developments.

But the improved infrastructure is not happening in crucial areas like education and industry, and on this count the people are genuinely angry with the incumbent Government. A lacklustre attitude towards industry is another sightable drawback that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Government has been afflicted with.

A casual attitude in the recruitment of teachers, doctors and other professionals is another disastrous move of the regime. When such moves were resisted, they were met with an arrogant response from the Chief Minister. Despite having a stable fiscal position, it is bizarre that Mr Nitish Kumar has no interest in avoiding such treatment to the educated unemployed.

The state of higher education is no less pathetic. Most students are still compelled to migrate for university education. The only improvement is the secured finances to many sick universities. It is not that moves were not made to improve the situation. But, wrongly envisioned, they met with failure. Surrounded with the wrong set of advisers, Mr Nitish Kumar seems to forget the pain of his people
Notably, these advisers come from different orbits and they hardly know the State outside of Patna. Those living in the State are acknowledging the welcome changes of recent years, albeit shunning the insensitive stand of the Government on key issues. As they vote during the election, their anger could impact adversely on the immediate prospects of the JD(U).

It’s time Mr Kumar looks beyond his statistical progression with developmental plans. He must recognise the excluded areas where his Government has failed to go far. Officialdom has its limits and Mr Kumar must not forget that. In the next few weeks, the scenario of alliances would become clear. Bihar will usher into a difficult phase. This time, it would be losing its ‘reformed politics’.
-Atul K Thakur
Email: summertickets@gmail.com
(Published in The Pioneer, on January7,2014)

The Height of Clamour

Book Review: Non-fiction/ A Great Clamour: Encounters with China and its Neighbours by Pankaj Mishra, Penguin, p.325; Rs499 (Hardback)
Pankaj Mishra’s A Great Clamour comprises a significant commentary on contemporary China, an examination of the contradictions and potency that shape and define the country

In the earlier work titled From the Ruins of Empire, Pankaj Mishra had conducted an effective analysis of the western model and presented reasons why he believes Asia has a better chance in the new world, set free as it is from the complex constructs of its colonial past. Mishra’s latest book, A Great Clamour: Encounters with China and its Neighbours, once more, and just as winningly, challenges the burden of western influence on Asia.

In the course of writing these two books, the author has traced the journeys and ideas that contributed to the building of Asian solidarity—first through intellectual engagements and later via trade collaborations. But in the wake of decolonisation and emergence of modern states, based on western political ideas, that solidarity, he believes, has become somewhat incoherent.

Mishra, who calls Mashobra in Himachal Pradesh his home, has intermittently spent over two decades there. Living in such proximity to the mountains, on the other side of which lies Tibet, meant that it was natural that China would figure a big part of his research, a country he deems as complex and possessing a comparable degree of civilisational attributes as his own.

Another factor that threads India and China together, in Mishra’s view, is the role they play in global capitalism. The upward mobilisation from rural areas to big cities is a visible trend in both, with varied internal effects, of course, including the springing forth of a new kind of politics which necessarily focuses on issues related to unequal access to resources and lack of accountability in governance.

But beyond borders, as Mishra puts it, the common experience of modern capitalism offers new grounds for fraternity. Then again, the author does express reasonable concern towards the impediments that continue to exist on the path of solidarity—as in the case of China and India, the contradiction within their respective political systems and economic interests.

The book attempts a frontal attack on capitalism and western notions of modernity; the last part of the volume, for instance, takes into account five other Asian countries—Japan, Taiwan, Mongolia, Malaysia and Indonesia—as sufferers of these very forces.

In doing so, Mishra often seems to be penning a report cart of sorts on these nations, with taglines like “Japan’s aged modernity” and “Shanghai’s garish newness”, among others. As interesting as these are, however, given the fact that he doesn’t list any viable alternatives to replace the western model, they prove a bit aimless in the end.

A Great Clamour can be considered, for the most part, a significant commentary on contemporary China, supported by fine observations on crucial antecedents. Though very briefly, the book also explores the controversial issue of Tibet, as well as the dismal state of Nepali migrants in the booming towns of a “very aggressive China”.

This isn’t, of course, the first time Mishra has touched upon Nepal in his works; his Temptations of the West: How to be Modern in India has a detailed chapter on the country, wherein he captures the sense of disillusionment among the masses incited by both the monarchy and Maoist rule, at a time when royals and radicals were the biggest players in national politics and the path ahead was still murky.

As for the subject of Tibet, it is appreciable that Mishra has chosen to write on it, given how under-covered it still remains in the mainstream press, in terms of real, qualitative research that is built on anything other than a western perspective. Although commentaries and books can be found, there are very few works among these that are able to evade personal judgment to offer a more objective view, something Mishra is clearly hoping to remedy.

The author, who has emerged a major thinker in recent times, further demonstrates his competence with this latest release. In the last few years, Mishra has spent a considerable amount of time in the West, and he’s used the experiences gained therein to challenge the ‘western wisdom’ in circulation around the world, a stance already made crystal clear in his much-hyped spat with Niall Ferguson and Patrick French, during which he accused the first of being racist and the second for overlooking elitism in India.

Mishra’s last two books had aimed to highlight the apathy of Asians towards their own history, and investigate why it is that the western model—ridden with crises of idea and direction—is still being religiously adhered to in Asia. Most likely, he argues, this is because the world has now a more or less undivided economic vision—beyond symbolism, even a country like China is afflicted with the consumerist agenda. The weakening of radical political ideologies and failure of existing leftists to find an alternate route regarding ‘intelligent economics’ has turned the scene dangerously idle, he says.

A Great Clamour largely shows the double-wheeling of the Chinese regime, sans democratic provisions like fundamental rights and transparency. The surging cities, unprecedented aggression on Tibet and calmness of citizens—it’s a country that is expanding with countless contradictions within its belly. But China is a world unto itself; other worlds on the outside have no clear access to this land. And over the decades, it has placed itself in the unique position to be able to play strategic ‘hide and seek’ with entities within and beyond its physical fortress.

India has a rich tradition of wandering scholars, and Mishra appears to be next in line, behind the likes of Rahul Sankrityayan ,Nagarjun, Nirmal Verma, travelling and writing on alien lands. The man, who loves isolation and working outside of the public glare, is greatly suited to unravel the realities of unexplored terrains. Throughout his career, he has been promising with his chosen themes, and this new book too is certain to be read and liked widely.
-Atul K Thakur
Email: summertickets@gmail.com
(Published in The Kathmandu Post on February1,2014)

The House with a Thousand Stories

Book Review: Fiction/ The House with a Thousand Stories by Aruni Kashyap, Penguin, p.226; Rs399
Aruni is among those few, who practically objected the stereotypical portrayal of northeast as a ‘subject matter’. These seven states, otherwise, are far too diversified to be approached with narrowly preoccupied views. But from the ‘mainland’, any attempt of correction remained elusive so far, alas!

The House with a Thousand Stories is set in the backdrop of turbulent Assam, especially on the killing years in the late 1990s-early 2000s. Politically conscious albeit modestly judgmental, Aruni weaves many stories into a complex fold that intricately separates the soft notions from real tragedies in action. The novel is basically plotted in Guwahati and Mayong—or alternatively, between the ‘land of bad politics and black magic’.

The story moves around young Pablo—a city boy who has mostly lived a sheltered and privileged life in Guwahati. He visits his ancestral village for his aunt’s wedding—exactly like an ‘absentee native’ in rural hinterlands. As the wedding formalities advances, Pablo gets him into low comfort by squabbling aunts, dying grandmothers, cousins planning to elope for love or lust, and endless gossips. Amidst the flurry of rituals and aspiration, also looms large the dark shadow of insurgency and brutal counter action of state.

In patches, still ‘normalcy’ attends the scene of wedding home—more or less, as ‘hope’ comes in the minds of conflict sufferer. The marriage here ends in grave tragedy—Pablo finds and loses his first love, and he sees his family surrounded with boundless troubles. But as can be expected, life goes on—few survive with memories and rest others perishes by the harsh knock of unforgiving time.

Pablo is a thinking protagonist, who too is a sufferer, but under the different circumstances. Hence he looks on the wider upturn of the events and recalls ‘short-lived moments’, as and when he grips with the load of nostalgia or finds him in particular acquaintances. Yet he is firm to go ahead but without ever ceasing to be perplexed with the closest surrounding, fated abnormal.

Here, the chaos is multidimensional and touches personal as well as the collective spheres—so the stories are in thousands, though unlikely they would make much impact outside the ground zeroed, for such sad theatrics. As stories are the accounts of unrelenting grief, so these are not enough convincing for ‘power consuming minds& souls’. The thousands stories, thus, are buried in the insensible disconnect of ‘mainland and conflict land’. The deafness is too high all around and this is a chronic issue, to be dealt with ‘precision and resistance’.

Sincere in narration and evidently without lack of insights, this debutant novelist has justified his keen orientation on his milieu. He breaks the monotony in literatures on Assam and offers the world, a fresh perspective to look on this unusual part of the east. This state has been in tussle with its existential paradigms—however, the recent years have witnessed some alteration in old discourse.

The insurgencies, falsified by insurgents and political animals with no sense of practical politics, have come timid with good effects. Technically, this is the hibernation phase for reactionaries—but people at large are not a happy lot. The exploitation of resources and political guided turf of migration inside the state, is still not allowing fairness to be effectively grounded. Indifference with the pathetic situation is still a ‘mainstream culture’—hardly anything could be more agreeable than this.

Even today, the violence of different sorts is not letting Assam to live its potential. Next to the plundering of natural resources, insurgencies and political downplays, now Assam is grappling with the ‘arrival of easy money’, heavily involved in real estate and various shady businesses. In all probability, the rise of these unhygienic elements would be called an ‘entrepreneurial upsurge’—but in actual, that would be the height of ‘absurd hypotheses’.

In the beautiful first hand narrative of Pablo, The House with a Thousand Stories recounts many crucial issues in broader frameworks. Aruni, restless with pen has immense potential to be in the league of front running fiction writers—however, with his first book, he must be known as a remarkable writer of his generation. Of late, Assam has now its own bilingual chronicler
-Atul K Thakur
Email: summertickets@gmail.com
(Published in The Kashmir Walla,January,2014)

Verdict for democracy

Nepal’s election results are hardly unexpected. The Maoists have been relegated to third position and many Madheshi and fringe parties have met their diminishing fortunes. Under both the direct vote and Proportional Representation systems, the Nepali Congress, led by Sushil Koirala, took the lead, followed by the CPN-UML, headed by Jhala Nath Khanal.

The political verdict is clearly in favour of a stable coalition. Evidently, the course correction has been directed against the UCPN (Maoist), who failed at any broadbased maneuvering to make the constitution in recent years. The disenchantment with the Maoists, thus, must be seen in the long-term context.

Unprecedented fall

The rise and fall of the Maoists as a political force in Nepal is unprecedented—their acceptance into mainstream society grew with the end of the ‘normal monarchy’ in the country and subsequent political developments, in which the mainstream political parties were on a weak track. Even then, the way in which the Maoists rose to political prominence, despite their notoriety for violence, was quite unusual.

The spectre of decline was certainly known to Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Baburam Bhattarai but they seemed to remain steadfast in not moulding their ideological principle for local conditions and moreover, to live out its spirit. So, the blunders were not single-handed. In the changed scenario, the Nepali Maoists turned into a classic example of adhering to a custom-made ideology from a foreign land.

In the 1960s, something similar happened in India when a genuine radical upsurge met with an awful fate, following the incorrigible sycophancy of communist leaders in fancying the Chinese style of ‘hit and run communism’. Some even went so far to declare ‘China’s Chairman as their Chairman’.

Consequently, the radical movement dwindled in India, though the oppressiveness of the state and corporates has increased multifold over the decades. The Maoists in Nepal should think of the bigger picture and start doing things, rather than denying the aspirations of the common folk. And on a personal front too, they have to show integrity with principled political commitments, which, sadly, is notably absent in their current mode of action.

Albeit, emigration is reaching painful levels of exodus among young Nepalis but the poll results have represented their will. Certainly, they wish for a stable nation, with enough capacity to absorb the needs of every citizen. As of now—from India to Tibet to the Arab countries—the state of average Nepali migrants is a matter of concern for any thinking mind. Alas, no thou-ght or action has really been made on this haunting issue!

NC and UML

This is a historic chance for the Nepali Congress (NC) and CPN-UML to draft a pro-people constitution and create a functional government. As representative of the peoples’ will, these two political parties should not fail this time, because improved democratic processes will only promise better times ahead.

More on the socio-economic line, increased inclusion of different under-represented communities should be among the top agenda. Now these two major political parties have to carry the will of the people at large—as the activism of regional outfits in the Madhes and other parts of the country have lost their allure. But it is crucial for the NC and UML to respond and address the genuine demands of these groups.

Missed opportunity

The election result is remarkable for rejecting the ‘federalisation drive’ of the Maoists but keeping hope alive for socio-economic transformation. This was a response to the previous political configuration, which was largely opportunistic. If things improve, we will not see ethnic conflict mar the syncretism of this ancient land.

As the recently held CA election had existential rigour for Nepal’s democracy, it is truly unfortunate to see India’s inept response. India’s foreign ministry has again missed a chance to do damage control for earlier blunders by offering gestures of support to Nepal, which holds more significance than the other countries where top leaders don’t mind travelling to without reason and wasting valuable national resources.

Still, if not the Indian establishment, the mass of Indians think much more actively about their special neighbour. There lies the strength of bilateral relations between two countries; otherwise, official double standards from both sides could have hampered this relation long ago.

The time is right for immediate action from the new incumbent in Kathmandu. They will have focus on pressing goals. This time, leaders have to act or fail like the Maoists. The choices are easy to make but consistently following up on them will be the real acid test. But for now, reading the election results on a positive note would not be too risky.
-Atul K Thakur
Email: summertickets@gmail.com
(Published in The Kathmandu post,on December07,2013)